A Daydream Come True
by faeborn2930
Summary: She was a normal high-school girl... until Nyoka showed up and turned her life upside down. Now she's a Herald-Trainee in a world she thought was fictional, and a new threat looms on the horizon... Three- Gifts and hot mentors, hehe. RR please! :)
1. Chapter One

Okay, so there's been a glut of "I've been Chosen from the real world and taken to Valdemar" stories lately, but I do have to add mine in to the mix, sorry. This story is more for me than for anyone else, but I do hope you enjoy it. No flames please, but kind reviews are always welcome. Disclaimer- Unfortunately, I do not own Valdemar, Companions, Heralds, etc. Mercedes Lackey does. I do own Molly and all my original characters though, so don't steal them (not that you'd want to).  
  
Chapter One  
  
I shuffled quietly into my sixth hour, holding my binder and Calculus book close to me and looking down at the ground as to avoid the worried glances and the concern of the other students. I really wasn't in the mood for their pity, no matter their good intentions.  
~How could he say those things?~ I asked myself silently as I sat down in my desk at the front. I set down my books and attempted to find some way to lay my head on my desk and still be comfortable. ~I try so hard to make him happy and show him that I care about him.he doesn't care, he just doesn't care.~ I blinked rapidly, trying to hold back my tears as I remembered what had happened just a few minutes before.  
I sat next to Chris, my ex-boyfriend, in fifth hour. We'd gone out for nearly a year and a half before he broke up with me about three months ago during the summer. We were still close. I was still in love with him. He said he still loved me, but he did so many things that he knew made me hurt.  
My name is Molly. I'm a 17-year old junior in a high school in Illinois, and I'm also one of those people who always needs to be reassured, one of those irritating people that isn't ever confident with something they've done until people tell them it's good, one of those people who may sound like they're fishing for compliments but really need that encouragement or they'll feel worthless.  
It doesn't help that I have no self-esteem, or that I can't stand to be rejected by people, or that I obsess about it when people don't like me, or.  
I could go on all day about my faults. But at the moment, I was feeling like Chris, whom I still loved, couldn't stand to be around me, and it was making me miserable. It wasn't like the same thing hadn't happened before -- unfortunately, it was becoming more and more common. He feels like even though we're friends and he says he loves me, he can't let _anyone_ know about it - and I cringe at the thought that he's embarrassed of me, or just trying to fend me off by saying "Oh, I love you, don't worry." then not talking to me anymore except when he absolutely has to.  
My relationships with people weren't doing well. I wasn't overly fond of my best friend Scott's girlfriend, and she decided to get all the people I was friends with (but not close friends with) to see all my bad points and start disliking me, as well as not invite me to things, etc. It made my best friend mad that I disliked his girlfriend and that there was tension between everyone. All because of me, or at least most people (including me) thought so.  
I walked down the hallways of the school alone these days, and I tried not to be sad as I wished for someone that would be a true, honest friend and care about me just as much as I cared about them. It was really what I needed, but I was smart enough to realize that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  
"Students and teachers, please excuse this interruption," the intercom said suddenly in the voice of one of our assistant principals. The administrators managed to interrupt class at least once an hour. "But can sophomore students with last names A through L please come down to the Commons for the PLAN test? They'll be gone the whole hour and will also be taking it first through third hour tomorrow. Thank you."  
I curled up into a little ball in my desk, wishing I didn't sit in the very front so I could avoid everyone and my teacher wouldn't notice.  
"Ok, everyone!" my Calculus teacher said cheerfully as she stepped up to the front of the room. She was a very youthful looking woman with gold- blonde hair that had a cute wave to it, and she dressed very well and always managed to look cute. We finally asked her how old she was one day. We expected that she was in her early 30's, but she was turning 40 this year!  
"Section 4.2 today, but before we get started on that, check your answers for 4.1 with what I've got on the board over there-" she motioned to a large dry-erase board on the right side of the room next to the door, but I didn't bother to look. I hadn't done it, same as normal.  
I rested my head on my desk so that my forehead and nose were flat on it and I was looking straight down at the fake wooden surface. I wished the school day would end so I could go home and sleep and try to forget about everyone, and daydream about leaving and going someplace wonderful and nice where I would always be happy. . . Like Valdemar.  
Valdemar was a fantasy world in my favorite book series, and living in it was my usual daydream. That world had people called Heralds, who had magical horse-like beings called Companions. I dreamed and dreamed about going there, but mostly because of the Companions.  
The Companions that bonded to Heralds would love them and support them and be with them forever. That kind of love and support was the thing I most desperately craved in my life, and for a while I'd thought I had it with my friends.  
But I was slowly learning that people can't be trusted to do anything other than look out for themselves, and that fact depressed me more than I could ever say.  
I suffered the rest of the way through math, trying not to draw any more attention to myself than need be. My teacher never called on people in class -- that was the way it was for me in most of my classes, actually. A teacher asked a question and whoever knew it answered halfheartedly, though sometimes it took some prodding on the teacher's part.  
The bell finally rang for us to be let out of class, and I was the first one up and out the door, walking off to my locker with energy I didn't feel I had. I got there and opened the lock dispassionately and packed up my homework into my dark green bookbag (I really needed to clean it out). By that time, my locker-mates had arrived.  
Scott was the first to see that I wasn't doing very well, and he knelt down next to me, concerned.  
"Molly, you okay?" he asked, his sky blue eyes catching mine. His eyes somehow managed to change color all the time, between blue, gray, green, and brown, and most of the time combinations of those. I would catch his eyes sometimes and tell him that they were pretty today, and we would laugh.  
"Yeah," I replied blandly, nodding and looking away from his eyes to zip up my book bag. I knew he'd know something was wrong. He always knew. But I didn't want to have to subject anyone else to my depression - at least, not at school, not in front of so many people.  
He frowned in slight worry. "Will you call me and talk to me about it later?" he asked quietly, and I nodded again, still refusing to meet his eyes by keeping myself occupied with getting ready to leave. I stood and shouldered my backpack. It was heavy, as usual. One night it had weighed in at nearly 30 pounds -- quite a bit to my 100-pound self.  
"I'm ready too, I'll walk with you," Scott offered, holding out his hand with a little smile to try to make me feel better. I gave him a small smile in return and I grabbed his hand and let him help me up. This was the way Scott was. He could always make me feel better, but he was careful not to let me get too dependent on him.  
"Okay," I replied quietly. "My sister isn't here today, so we can just go." My little sister was a freshman, and I usually had to wait around for a little while to drive her home. She wasn't feeling that well today, so she'd stayed home with our mom to recover.  
Scott and I walked over towards one of two sets of main stairways in the school, and as we did, I caught sight of Chris.  
~He's way too attractive for his own good,~ I thought to myself as Scott and I walked down the hall. Chris was half-Asian, with tanned skin and black hair, but he had his American dad's eyes. He was tall and had that -look- about him that made people intrigued, had a beautiful baritone singing voice, and could play any instrument he picked up, though the ones he actually had experience player were guitar, drums, trombone, French horn, piano, and trumpet.  
He was standing with a group of kids a year older than us -- they were his new group and he spent all his time with them now. He was popular for a "band geek" and everyone that knew him thought he was "cool."  
Scott noticed which way I was looking and glanced over there himself. "C'mon," he urged after seeing who exactly I was looking at, and took my elbow and turned me towards the stairs. We walked down the two flights to the ground floor and exited through the door that went into the student parking lot and the chilly air outside.  
I heard the breeze before I felt it, that soft rustling of the leaves in the trees being blown by an invisible force they could never comprehend, then the chilly winter air hit me and managed to find its way past my thick black coat and make me shiver. I loved the winter when it snowed, but before that, it was just irritating.  
Scott and I walked towards the football field next to which my car was parked, but I heard Chris's laughter behind me as he and his friends came outside. I slowed down my walking speed -- I wanted desperately to look back at him, to see his smiles and wish that those smiles were for me, but I stopped myself before I did so.  
"Want to go to Barnes and Noble or something?" I asked Scott quietly. I needed something to get my mind off Chris.  
Scott smiled and nodded. "Sure. I'll give you a call later, okay?"  
I nodded as well and gave him a small smile as well, and then the two of us began walking again.  
Suddenly, a flash of something white and moving quickly in the corner of my field of vision caught my eye, and I turned to see what it was.  
A. . . horse? Here? In the middle of the city? I blinked and reached up to rub my eyes, then shook my head slightly and looked again. It was still there. A pure white horse.  
"What-" Scott saw it too, and looked just as confused as I did. I heard some commotion from behind me and I glanced back to see Chris and his friends jogging towards me.  
"Is that a _horse_?" Chris asked me as he stopped his jog. We were standing in the parking lot nearest the school, and the horse was rapidly approaching us at a quick trot through the lot next to this one.  
"I- I think so. . ." I replied dubiously. We were all in too much shock to say much else, and the creature got nearer and I got a better look at it.  
It was the purest white all over, without a spot of any other color anywhere on its body. It had long legs and its mane and tail had been grown out, and they flared out behind it as it moved, the long white strands whipping back and forth in the breeze. There was practically no noise now except for the whining of the wind, for most activity had stopped as everyone outside noticed the creature there.  
In the silence, I heard a quiet sound. . .  
"Bells," I whispered, and glanced at the horse's hooves. Silver. Clean and shining and perfect silver hooves tapped against the asphalt as it trotted closer. "Could it-" I asked myself, and I looked.  
"Blue eyes. . ." I whispered, then louder. "Blue eyes! It has blue eyes! And silver hooves, and it's pure white! It looks just like a Companion! Isn't it beautiful?" I was shocked out of my trance and, my eyes wide in delight at seeing such a beautiful creature so much like the ones in my stories, I approached the horse as he trotted closer, walking cautiously. The creature must have been frightened from all the cars and people, but he didn't seem like it. In fact, he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing as he stepped closer to me and we both stopped moving.  
:I came here for you,: I heard a masculine voice say as I reached out tentatively to touch the horse's soft nose. I would look back later and realize that I hadn't really _heard_ the voice -- and that none of my friends had moved or even looked like they heard when the voice spoke.  
:But I do realize that these aren't really the normal circumstances, seeing as I was Gated here to find you. You grew up in a place wildly different from where I come from -- but your good heart and soul Called me to you. But-: the voice paused, and I reached over to slide my hand along the smooth white neck. I noticed for the first time the blue bridle and saddle that the horse was wearing. :But I will not take you away unless you wish to. Will- will you come back to Valdemar with me, Molly?:  
I could hardly believe my ears. I hoped that it was a wonderful dream that I would never, ever wake from, because it was beyond belief that it could actually be real. "I will," I replied, my voice shaking and scratchy. I cleared my throat. "Yes, I- I will go with you, Nyoka." Somehow, _somehow_ I knew that Nyoka was his name -- and that he truly was a Companion of Valdemar that had come to take me with him.  
I finally found the courage to meet his eyes, and when I did, it was more, so much more than all the Valdemar stories had said. It was a joy beyond anything I had ever experienced, a happiness that I would hold in my soul for the rest of my life, a joining of two creatures destined to be one. All the holes and hurts in my heart were healed in that one blinding, precious moment, and tears sprang to my eyes. Then, at last, I heard the words I had dreamed of hearing for three years, ever since I had first picked up "Arrows of the Queen."  
:Then I, Nyoka, Companion of Valdemar, have not traveled so far and so long in vain. I Choose you, Molly, and I am happy beyond words that you have decided to come with me!:  
"So am I," I whispered through my tears of joy, and I buried my face in his smooth neck and wrapped my arms around him, unconscious and uncaring about the stares I was receiving from all the people around us. 


	2. Chapter Two

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my one reviewer, Herald-Mage Brianna. =D Thanks so much for reviewing! I hope you like the rest of the story!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
During that moment of silence following my Choosing, I was in heaven, and too happy to speak. I was loved and I loved in return, and I knew that I would never, ever be alone again.  
But the silence existed for a different reason for my friends -- they were rather stunned.  
"Erm, Molly?" Chris asked, sounding confused. "You okay?"  
I blinked and came back from my half-trance and took one step back from the Companion -- my Companion, Nyoka -- and grinned at him, then turned around to Chris to smile at him. It was the first time in a long while that I'd smiled at him without any trace of fear or doubt or anything but joy.  
"I'm perfectly fine," I replied, my eyes bright with the tears I'd nearly shed. "I- I have to leave, though. . ."  
Scott looked alarmed. "Molly, what happened? One minute you stepped up to the horse, then you were laughing and talking to it and smiling and now you're. . ."he trailed off.  
I smiled again. "I'm sorry. But- this. . ." I turned a bit and motioned to the Companion. "This is Nyoka. He's a Companion of Valdemar, and he journeyed here to Choose me."  
Both the boys' jaws practically dropped in surprise, and the looks in their eyes told me they obviously didn't believe what I was saying. After all, who would believe it except for someone who had heard that voice in their mind, someone who could already feel the love flowing from the magnificent creature next to them?  
But they did understand what I meant when I said Companion. I'd forced both of them to read some of Mercedes Lackey's books (Chris read "The Last Herald-Mage" trilogy and Scott read the "Arrows" trilogy), and they understood what I meant -- or at least, what I _thought_ I'd meant. I knew it was true, but I also knew that it would be impossible to convince them.  
My goodbyes for Scott were first, and I stepped forward and into his arms that he'd held out to hold me. "Soulsib," I said, using the nickname I only used rarely, "I love you dearly. And- I'll miss you so much. But I have to go with Nyoka."  
Surprisingly, Scott smiled sadly and nodded. "I knew you weren't happy here," he said, and we both knew he meant "Earth" by "here." "Go with him and be happy! But I'll miss you too!"  
I then went to put my arms around Chris and hug him tightly, and, surprised, he returned the hug. "I love you," I told him, looking up into his brown eyes. "But I can't stay here now. I- I can't say that you'll ever understand, or- that I'll see you again." I knew it was true, and it cut through my already fragile heart like a knife, so I tried not to think about it. "And- oh crap, I know this sounds horrible and corny and everything, but I do, absolutely, positively love you." And I reached up to kiss him one last time. "And- tell my family that I love them and that I'm sorry."  
He blinked. "I- love you too. . ." he replied, still sounding a bit dazed and confused. "And I'll tell them."  
I turned back to Nyoka and smiled at him, and he tossed his head. :We should go,: he told me, and I nodded and stepped back towards him and lifted my foot up to slip it into the stirrup. Somehow I managed to pull myself into the saddle and look just a bit graceful as I did so, even though I'm only 4'10" and Nyoka was very tall.  
He chuckled mentally as I settled into the saddle, my backpack still on my back. :We'll be able to do even more than that after you finish all of your classes!: he told me, and I grinned at him.  
He began trotting off towards the football field, and I turned around to smile at my friends and wave farewell. I would miss them. . . but then I looked down at Nyo's ears, which were up and swiveling around to hear all the sounds of a city that were so unlike the ones he was used to, and I knew that since he would be there, everything would be alright.  
We crossed the two streets before the football field and walked inside the open gate. "How are we getting to Valdemar?" I asked him aloud as he walked down the rough gravel path.  
:Darkwind, Elspeth and Gwena, and Summerhawk and Iai are holding open a Gate for us,: he said. :Summerhawk is the son of Darkwind and Elspeth -- he's 15 or 16, I think, and Iai is his Companion.:  
I blinked and did the calculations in my head. "So it's been at least sixteen years since the end of the Mage Storms?" I asked, and I was rewarded by a feeling of affirmative that Nyoka Sent to me. "So the prince and princess must be grown up, and Talia's son Jemmie, too."  
:The three of them and Summerhawk are all in your year-group,: he told me. :They were all Chosen very late, just like you. This will be a very old class compared to the ages of most of the newly-Chosen, and the five of you will probably graduate in about three or four years depending on how much extra work you do.:  
By this time we'd come to the small building at the edge of the football field. An old, broken soccer goal was leaned up against it, but through the goal --  
--were three people and two Companions who all looked like they were concentrating a great deal. It was obviously not going to Earth. . . It was Valdemar.  
:Time to go,: Nyoka said, and he stepped through the Gate and into my new home.  
I felt like I was falling endlessly, but there was no wind as I fell. My stomach lurched and my eyes widened in fear and surprise, and the space was unexpectedly not cold. I'd always figured the Void would be freezing cold. Strange. But we were between the worlds for only about five or six seconds before Nyo's hooves landed on solid ground and we were in Valdemar.  
I gasped for air, shut my eyes to the brightness of the sun, and bent down to lean heavily on the Companion's neck, but then I felt hands reaching up to lift me from the saddle and lay me gently on the ground. I relaxed as I was on solid land again, and I heard voices speaking in a language I didn't understand. They spoke out loud, but I also heard voices in my mind.  
:We were in the Gate longer than I expected,: I heard Nyoka's voice say, but he wasn't just talking to me, I suspected. :She did very well for her very first time through a Gate. It was her first -- well, second if you count my Choice -- exposure to magic, as well. And she doesn't speak Valdemaran.:  
:We need to have Taeo give her the language,: a feminine voice said with surety. :She really must learn immediately or she will struggle far too much to succeed. And none of us know her language. She would also feel alienated while she learned.:  
:Would it be wise to force it upon her so soon?: another female voice asked, this one quieter and more songlike than the last. :Even those that are used to magic and can prepare for things like this can have bad reaction-headaches when they receive a language.:  
I heard Nyo sigh mentally. :We have no choice, I think she must learn it. She is stronger than she looks, all will be well.: I felt his attention on me, but how I did this with my eyes closed, I had no idea. :Molly, I hate to do this to you now, but we are going to have Taeo, a king dyheli- stag that lives here in Haven, give you Valdemaran.:  
"I- okay," I replied, unsure of myself. But I really did need to know it. . .  
A moment later I heard the sound of hooves approaching at a sedate pace, and then a soft nose reach down to touch my cheek, and I smiled, though my eyes were still closed. :Good day, young one,: a deep voice said into my mind, sounding amused and content and wise. :It is a pleasure to meet you. You have traveled far to come here, and I will make everything a bit easier for you. . . while also making your head hurt,: he chuckled good naturedly and sent a feeling of apology, and I felt the blackness come to swallow me up and submitted to its power gracefully.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I opened my eyes to find myself in a fairly plain room painted a soft green color, and I looked over to see a sweet-looking woman with red-brown hair with a few gray streaks in it walk in through the door quietly. She was wearing all white clothing -- Whites, I quickly realized.  
"Herald-Trainee Molly?" she said cautiously. "Are you awake?"  
"I am," I replied, then suddenly realized that I was _not_ speaking English. ~Wow, that really worked. . .~ And then the headache set in, preventing me from thinking any more about the new language I could suddenly speak. I put my hand against my forehead, wishing I had some Advil or something to take and make this horrid pain go away. ~Oh- wow, they weren't lying when they said the headache was killer. . .~  
"I've got a headache potion for you," she said, approaching the bed with a soft smile. "I've never had to learn another language so quickly that the dyheli had to teach me, but I have heard that it is not a pleasant experience," she chuckled.  
I accepted the potion and grimaced for a moment before drinking it in a single gulp. "Yuck!" I said, coughing slightly and wishing I had something to take the taste out of my mouth, but the nastiness of the potion was counteracted by the way it made my aching forehead feel much better almost instantly. "But- wow!" I grinned at her. "At least it works. I wish I would've had something like this at- home. . ."  
I trailed off and realized with a start what had really happened. Chosen. Goodbyes. A Gate. And now- Valdemar. I wasn't at home, I wouldn't see my family or my friends again, I wouldn't recognize any of the people here or any of the foods or live in a way I had been living for seventeen years. I felt my first twinges of homesickness.  
The woman took a seat next to me, and reached out to pat my hand. "I realize you've just taken a very large, and very sudden journey," she said, "and that it will be hard for you here. It will be different, I won't lie to you. But- I think that you'll grow to love it here, and that you'll make friends. I hope you won't regret coming to be with us."  
I looked down and thought hard for a moment. ~It- it will be hard. But isn't this what I've always dreamed of? I'd be pretty silly not to be grateful for the gift the fates have given me.~  
I looked back up and smiled. "I- I think I'll be happy here, lady Herald," I said. "And- you're Talia, aren't you?"  
She laughed aloud. "Nyoka said you were quick and that you knew about us!" The Queen's Own smiled at me, then looked a bit thoughtful. "But I'm afraid we're not quite sure what to do with you. Telling everyone that a young woman from another world has come and been Chosen would seem a bit strange, and I don't think you'd want all that attention anyway, right?"  
It was a good thing I was pretty used to randomly talking to everyone or I'd be going crazy with the fact that I was now talking to Talia, the Queen's Own in a world I'd thought only an hour or so ago to be fictional. "Definitely not," I agreed. "How about -- I'm a minor noble from near the edge of Valdemar, and I lived a very secluded life because my parents tried to protect me from everything, so I don't know much about Valdemar or anything."  
Talia beamed. "Wonderful. I'll tell Selenay what you've come up with, and we'll inform your teachers, as well. Your year mates also know the truth, and those four are my son Jemmie, Selenay's twins Lyra and Kris, and Elspeth's son Summerhawk."  
I nodded. "So where am I right now? What classes will I be taking? Do I have any Gifts?"  
"You're in the House of Healing currently," she replied. "We're not sure what classes you'll need, but," Talia chuckled, "most of them will probably be basic things about Valdemar and history and languages and those kinds of things. We'll have to see what kind of things you know before we know for sure though. And I don't know about your Gifts, but your Nyoka probably would. Would you like to go see him?"  
I stood and brushed off my clothes. I still looked very strange and out of place -- I wore khaki pants and a green shirt with a picture of Felix the cartoon cat on it, as well as a pleather (plastic leather) jacket. I didn't see my green bookbag anywhere, but I hoped that I'd be able to find it sometime.  
"I'd love to!" I replied. "But- could I change into something different? My clothes don't exactly fit in with what you wear here," I grinned, and Talia chuckled and nodded.  
"On the chair there are some Grays -- we guessed at your size, and since you're rather small, your clothes are pretty new seeing as they haven't been needed as much as the other sizes," the Queen's Own grinned. "I'll go out in the hallway to let you change and then I'll take you out to see Nyoka. After that I'll introduce you to your mentor, okay?"  
I nodded and walked over to grab the Grays on the chair that Talia had pointed to, then quickly changed into them. It was a strange feeling as I looked down at myself -- I already looked like a completely different person from the little near-helpless girl I'd been back home. There were so many changes that I kind of shut off the part of my mind that kept trying to insist that I realize the full implications of what had happened, knowing that I'd have plenty of time to think about it all later.  
I stepped out of the door and smiled at Talia. "Ready?" she asked with another friendly smile, and I nodded and we walked down the hallway and outside. 


	3. Chapter Three

Dedicated to my wonderful three reviewers so far, Herald-Mage Brianna, Delphine Pride, and Hildi-chan. Thanks so much guys! *pounces* I'll share my family's famous Thanksgiving Green Salad with you just for being so awesome. *grin*  
  
On to the story! And I realize there's no major plot yet. . . I expect it will appear in a big way in chapter five. =)  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Nyoka was usually a very laid-back Companion.  
He loved having fun, he had a good sense of humor, and he had plenty of friends. But for the last few days before he'd gone to another world to find his Chosen, he'd been antsy, nervous, and could hardly stand still without prancing in place a bit. He'd known at the time that he needed to find his Chosen, but the pull that had always drawn him right to where he or she was in his past lives was pulling in a very strange direction in this one.  
At first, it had told him to go every which way. He hadn't known north, south, east or west, because it was telling him that it was all of those and none of them. He'd had no idea what to do.  
But then he began getting flashes of images in his mind of where his Chosen was. She was in a place that looked incredibly strange, spoke in a tongue he didn't recognize, and was in every way different from a Valdemaran.  
But her heart was pure Herald, and he'd known that he was receiving these images because he was meant to Gate to where she was. So today he'd gone up to Gwena and told her everything. She'd quickly summoned her Chosen, a powerful Herald-Mage, as well as her Chosen's husband and son (who were also mages), and, after a bit of nervousness that they were Gating to a place unknown to them and were relying on the images that Nyoka provided, they had all made a Gate.  
As Molly was out cold in the House of Healing after receiving Valdemaran from Taeo, he pranced in place a bit as he stood in Companion's Field, looking over at the building.  
:Are you all right, Nyoka?: he heard a voice ask just as his ears picked up the sound of another Companion approaching. He glanced over to see that it was Iai, the Companion he'd loved for years. She was just as beautiful as always -- tiny and slender of body, and she was so graceful that she moved like a dancer. :How is your Chosen?: she asked, sounding concerned.  
:I believe that she will be fine,: he said hopefully, returning his gaze to the House of Healing. :She is stronger than she looks, I think.:  
:What is she like?: Iai asked him, stepping closer and reaching out to nuzzle him gently. He closed his eyes for a moment with happiness at the gesture, then responded.  
:She. . . she is very kind,: he told her, trying to sort through all the information he'd received when he'd Chosen her. :She cares for others genuinely, and she is always honest. She tries to be kind to everyone and figure out what makes others happy so she can do that for them; she hates seeing others in pain and hates fighting -- she kind of shuts down when people get angry at her. She can't stand it when people don't like her and obsesses over it a bit when that happens, but she's slowly learning that not everyone will like her and she has to learn to live with it. She loves to laugh and be truly happy with others.:  
He turned back to Iai and chuckled. :I think that is her basic personality. Now you know her just about as well as I do!:  
Iai pranced in place with her laughter. :She sounds very nice,: she told him honestly with a sparkle in her eyes. :She must meet my Summerhawk, I think they would get along.:  
He was about to respond when he felt a twitching in the back of his mind -- it was his Chosen awakening from her unconsciousness. He stretched his awareness out a bit more to feel what she was feeling, though their Bond was not yet strong enough for him to see through her eyes. He sensed her surprise, then figured out what had happened.  
:Talia is with her now,: he told Iai. :She'll probably bring her out here soon.:  
:I believe that is her plan,: a deep masculine voice said, and the two Companions turned to see the Grove-Born, Rolan, along with Summerhawk, approach. Rolan bowed his head slightly in a very regal manner, and the two of them returned the gesture. :I think that she likes your Chosen, Nyoka, though what happened with your Choosing is certainly. . . unordinary.: Rolan's voice was not unkind, just amused.  
Nyoka chuckled in agreement, but felt a bit nervous -- he was always worried around the Grove-Born. :That it was,: he replied. :I am glad Talia likes her. It will make things much easier, and perhaps they will get along and Molly will confide in her.:  
Rolan nodded solemnly. :It will not be easy for her here. I hope that she will talk to Talia as well. And they have something in common, as well -- a shared Gift.:  
Nyo sighed in relief. He'd suspected it, but he hadn't been sure -- apparently Talia had picked up on the Gift sometime during their conversation and had relayed the fact that Molly had a bit of Empathy to Rolan. :So she _is_ an Empath, then? I was wondering if that was what the Gift was.:  
:Talia and I believe she is an Empath, yes,: Rolan replied. :I think that once the two of them come out here then you will be able to tell what her Gifts are since you will be in close physical contact. You can probably stay together most of today while she recovers from the Gating, and she can get settled in and used to Collegium life tomorrow and classes will probably start for her the next day.:  
:That sounds nice,: Nyoka told him gratefully. :I'm glad she'll have time to get used to things a bit before getting thrown right into the middle of all of this.: He looked over at the House of Healing again and was happy to see Talia and Molly leave the building and come out towards them, and with a happy whinny, he went through the break in the fence and cantered towards them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Talia and I walked down the halls of the House of Healing and into what she told me was the Herald's Collegium. As she spoke, I marveled at the fact that it was Talia, Queen's Own Talia, that was leading me through the Collegium and telling me where and what everything was.  
"That room there," she said as we walked, motioning to a door on our left-hand side, "will be your Orientation classroom, taught by Herald Dirk."  
"Your husband, right?" I asked with a grin. "And he'll be teaching Jemmie, too?"  
Talia laughed, then looked over at me with a slightly surprised expression. "You really do know a lot about us," she said. "How do you know all of this? What else do you know?" she asked curiously.  
I chuckled. "In my world, tales about Valdemar are just books, fiction books that are written by a lady named Mercedes Lackey. There are lots of the books and I've read every single one -- it's too bad I didn't bring any to school with me today or I'd have one to show you," I said with a slight scowl at that turn of fortune. "There's a trilogy about you, one on Elspeth, one on the Mage Storms, one on Vanyel, one on the Mage Wars. . . as well as single books about Lavan Firestorm, Kerowyn, Alberich, and Skif. There's others, too, but I can't remember them all," I confessed. "I could probably write down the titles of all of the books if I had a minute and a piece of paper."  
Talia looked very surprised. "You know about Vanyel? And- what do you mean, the 'Mage Wars?'"  
"Two-thousand years ago," I explained, "there were two great mages fighting. One wanted to control the world and one tried to stop him, and those battles were called the Mage Wars. The deaths of those two mages resulted in the Cataclysm, which you all felt with the Mage Storms, and the creation of the Dhorisha Plains and Lake Evendim."  
Talia's jaw practically dropped. "W-wow," she said, then looked thoughtful. "Would you mind telling all these things to Myste, the Herald- Chronicler? She'll want to write down as much as she can about where you're from, as well -- she's rather detail-oriented like that, I'm afraid," Talia smiled.  
"I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I'd be happy to once I get settled in," I said, beaming up at her.  
"Wonderful!" We walked up to a door and Talia opened it and we stepped outside. "That's the Companion's Field," she said, pointing over to a large expanse of rolling hills and green grass and trees. I looked over at the fence surrounding it and saw three Companions and a person standing near it, and I looked at Talia hopefully. She just laughed. "Go ahead," she grinned, and I ran over to my Nyoka as fast as I could.  
Nyoka saw me as well, and he went through a little opening in the fence and ran towards me, stopping as he got closer. I stepped over to him and hugged his neck. "Nyoka," I murmured, "I love you! I missed you!"  
He whickered happily. :I missed you too, Chosen!: he said, stepping back to nuzzle me gently. :Did you have fun with Talia?:  
"Oh yes, she's very nice," I said happily. "I'm very excited to be here. This will be wonderful! It's just like in my stories!"  
I heard Talia's kindhearted chuckle as she approached. "By the way, Molly, have you met Summerhawk, Iai or Rolan yet?" she asked, and I shook my head and looked over at the other creatures I'd seen when I'd looked outside from the Collegium. Two of them were Companions -- one was a dainty, pretty little thing, and the other was tall, strong, and had a kind of heavenly look about him, like there should be choirs of angels singing, I thought with a little giggle.  
The other one was a human, a human boy, to be exact. I blinked in surprise. ~He is _hot_!~ I thought with a little smile at him. His skin was fairly tanned and his hair was a dark color that was either very dark brown or black, I couldn't tell, and it was long and hung down to his shoulders and was braided with feathers and beads. He was clad in Grays, but they certainly looked different from mine and had more decorations on them. I realized with a start that this must be Summerhawk, Elspeth and Darkwind's son.  
"Nice to meet you all," I said with a smile. Rolan and Iai (I assumed that was who it was, and that she must be Summerhawk's Companion) stepped forward to touch their nose to my outstretched hand gently, and Summerhawk smiled.  
"Nice to meet you too, Molly. How was your first experience with Gating?" he asked with a grin. I remembered that he was one of the ones that had helped me Gate here.  
:He is a Herald-Mage Trainee,: Nyo explained, :and he will be an Adept when he's fully trained. And Iai is the daughter of Rolan and Ahrodie, so she has quite a bit of power as well.: I 'felt' something like a blush when he said Iai's name, and I made a mental note to question him about that later. I chuckled mentally.  
"It was made even more wonderful by the fact that I had to learn Valdemaran right afterwards!" I grinned. "At least I won't have to do either of those again anytime soon," I said thankfully, and he laughed.  
"I should hope not, because then I'd be even more tired from helping build another one! Give, give, give, that's all I ever do and it's never appreciated. . ." he said jokingly, but acting hurt and innocent, and I laughed.  
Talia chuckled and looked over at my Companion. "Nyoka, Molly and I were hoping you could tell us what her Gifts are," she told him, and he nodded cheerfully with more personality than I had never seen coming from a horse. ~But,~ I reminded myself, ~he's not a horse. He's a Companion.~  
:Tell Talia that I would be happy to,: he told me, and I did so. :Now, let's see here. . .: he said, catching and holding my brown eyes with his bright blue ones. I may not be used to magic or the doings of Companions and Heralds, but I _know_ I felt some kind of funny feeling inside my head, and I figured that it must have been Nyo.  
:I've got it now,: he told me, and I blinked once. :Goodness. It seems you have quite a few Gifts, Chosen, but none of them are very powerful.: I relayed this information to Talia. :Hmm. . . Well, your two strongest Gifts are Empathy and Animal Mindspeaking, both of which are moderate-strength. Then you have weak Mindspeech, both projective and receptive, and weak Healing, as well as just a touch of Firestarting and a bit of the Mage Gift.:  
My jaw dropped. "I have _all_ of _those_?" I asked, looking at him like either he or I was crazy as the others did the same to me (since I hadn't told them what the Gifts were). "But- that's so many!"  
Nyo looked like he would have shrugged if he would have been physically able to. :At least it's not as many as Vanyel had,: he said with a whicker of laughter, and I had to agree. :And you'll be fine. The teachers here are excellent, but it seems you'll have to get some training in the Healer's Collegium as well as the Herald's.:  
I nodded thoughtfully. Five Gifts? I hoped I could learn to use them all without going crazy. I then realized that I hadn't told everyone else what Nyo had told me, and I quickly did so.  
Both Talia's and Summerhawk's eyes widened. "Nice job, Molly!" Hawk grinned. "We'll have Gift classes together. My only two are the Mage-Gift and Mindspeech, so we'll learn how to use them together, hey?" he smiled.  
"And since you have Healing as well as Empathy, you probably won't be trained by me, since all I have is Empathy," Talia told me. "And you'll get a much better training than I did -- nobody really knew how to train someone who only had Empathy and not Healing so I kind of had to muddle through it on my own," she said with a little half-smile.  
I grinned. "Good news for me, I guess!"  
Talia then smiled. "This will work out better than I'd hoped." She turned to Summerhawk with a curious expression on her face. "Hawk, I was hoping that you'd be Molly's mentor with the mages, since you'll both be Herald-Mage Trainees, and I was thinking Kedya for her regular mentor. Would you mind?" she asked hopefully.  
"I wouldn't mind at all!" he said enthusiastically, then grinned at me. "I'll be able to get her back for making me Gate her all the way here!" Hawk said impishly.  
I stuck out my tongue at him and laughed, and I happened to glance over at Talia and Rolan, both of whom were looking rather smug and proud of themselves. I wished I could raise one eyebrow at Nyo to show my curiosity, and I vowed to ask him about what they were plotting later. ~I wish I could Mindspeak him!~ I thought wistfully.  
"Who is Kedya?" I asked Talia.  
"She's a third-year Trainee," the Queen's Own responded, "and her Companion is the mare Aeliith. Should we go meet her?"  
I nodded and hugged Nyo once more, then turned back to her.  
"Mind if I tag along?" Hawk asked hopefully.  
"Sure," Talia said with a kind smile, then the three of us walked back into the Herald's Collegium to meet up with my new mentor and attempt to get me settled in. 


End file.
